


Pretending

by April_Valentine



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: M/M, Poetry, Rickyl Writers' Group
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 13:20:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6196591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/April_Valentine/pseuds/April_Valentine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl has been pretending all his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pretending

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Skarlatha for giving us a place for Rickyl poetry and for inspiring this work.

Pretending

 

I’ve been pretending all my life.  
Pretending I didn’t care that people  
Looked at me as a worthless redneck,  
That Merle’s brand of love that consisted of  
Insults that were supposed to make me  
A man  
Didn’t hurt.

I pretended to myself that the scars  
On my back  
Don’t matter.

I pretended I hated you when you left  
Him on that roof.  
I pretended I loved him more when I  
Left you after we found him in Woodbury.

I pretended it was just stress relief  
When we touched each other  
In the dark of night  
At the prison  
In the woods,  
On the road,  
In Alexandria.  
That it meant nothing  
More than that.

That your touch  
That set fire to my skin  
And gave me peace  
For the first time in my life  
Gave me hope.  
That your touch  
Gave me my identity  
Let me accept myself  
My desires  
My reality.

I pretended that wasn't what I felt,  
So hard.  


That who I was might be  
Enough for you.

I pretended that all I wanted was to be  
Your brother.

And when I saw you with her that morning,  
Fresh from her bed,  
Half naked and glowing the way  
I’ve seen you glow  
\-- I’ve seen you glow that way _for me_ \--  
But I pretended it didn’t matter.  
That I never hoped for promises  
From your beautiful lips  
For a name for the things we shared  
For wanting you all to myself.

I pretended I didn’t want to cry.

And I’ll go on pretending,  
Even to you.


End file.
